Crispin Odey, the famously bearish UK hedge fund manager, is having his best start to a year since 2013 after benefiting from a run on stock markets in early February. It comes as the billionaire investor tries to rebuild his reputation after years of heavy losses and withdrawals.

The Odey European fund was up 9.3% this year to the end of February, according to numbers reported to investors — putting it among the best-performing funds so far in 2018. It is the fourth-best start to the year for Odey since the fund launched in 1992, according to a person familiar with the matter.